| Genesis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Rico Lebrun |
| Year | 1960 (1960) |
| Medium | Blackpolyvinyl acetone ongypsum plaster[1][2] |
| Dimensions | 880 cm × 760 cm (29 feet × 25 feet)[1] |
| Location | Frary Dining Hall,Pomona College,Claremont |
Genesisis amural by Italian-American painter and sculptorRico Lebrun depicting the suffering that humankind experiences in theBook of Genesis.[1] It was commissioned byPomona College and completed in 1960.[3] It is located on the south entrance of Frary Dining Hall.
The mural is on the interior wall of the south entrance of Frary Dining Hall atPomona College. The central figure isNoah sheltering a child, while being surrounded by representations ofAdam and Eve,Cain and Abel, theGenesis flood,Job, andSodom and Gomorrah.[4] Lebrun's concept was to depict "the evolution of form," and he discussed "half-borrowing and half-inventing organic fragments, skulls, sections of backbones, sections of ribcages, roots of plants, geological formations ... to weld some kind of design which would put across the becoming of form."[5]
In November 1956, Lebrun visited Pomona in preparation for asolo exhibition for his work atits art gallery organized byPeter Selz. He admiredJosé Clemente Orozco's frescoPrometheus in Frary and expressed an interest in painting a work in conversation with it.[6]
Selz pursued a commission for Lebrun, and secured a donation from Donald and Elizabeth Winston. The project stalled, however, after the Pomona Board of Trustees suggested that Lebrun submit sketches to the college's Buildings and Grounds Committee for approval, which he—along with Selz and the Winstons—viewed as a violation of hisartistic freedom.[6] The board relented and the commission was approved in October 1958.[6]
Lebrun worked on sketches for the mural during a residency at theAmerican Academy in Rome, during which time architect John Rex prepared acurtain wall for the work.[6] Lebrun arrived at Pomona in July 1960, bringing drawings that occupied most of the tables of Frary.[3] After redesigns, he began to paint in September,[3] assisted by Bill Ptaszynski and Jim Pinto. He finished the work in December 1960.[1]
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Genesis was met with critical acclaim.[2]Seldon Rodman wrote inThe New York Times that it was "the most ambitious mural painting north of the Rio Grande".[7] Lebrun wrote that it was "the best and most conclusive work I have painted to date".[2]Leonard Baskin, referencingPrometheus, wrote, "José Clemente can rest in peace. Hallowed ground has not been despoiled."[2]
Genesis is noted for its divergence from many of the artistic trends popular at the time. Its serious subject matter sets it apart from the moredecorative works then popular in the region.[6] It is an example of afigurative work, contrasting with theabstract expressionism then in vogue.[5] Lastly, its religious themes contrast with the increasing secularization of postwar America; Selz described it as "a religious painting created during a non-religious age".[5]
Public art at Pomona College